Thursday, 31 December 2015

Tomorrow, I'll be posting about where we will be sketching in 2016, but today we'll look back at where we sketched in 2015.......

Below you can see a record of the "Let's Draw..." events in 2015 - plus photos of people who participated and sketches.

January 2015

In January, we got organised and drew up a schedule of places for every month in 2015 - starting in February. This helped enormously with making things happen. As a result - numbers attending the skethcrawls increased significantly over the year, both in terms of overall numbers and regular attenders.

7th February 2015: British Museum

London Urban Sketchers draw the British Museum in February 2015
sitting on the steps in the great Court

A large group came to the British Museum day which proved to be a very good place to go on a winter's day - although rather busy on a Saturday with lots of other people looking for things to see and do indoors!

Monday, 14 December 2015

A Few weeks ago I was lucky to be
invited to join a group of artists to sketch from the comfort of an office on
the 32nd floor in Moorgate. It was amazing experience to gradually see London
light up as the sky darkened. The views were incredible. The iconic
curved dome of St Paul's Cathedral caught my eye, standing out in contrast to the numerous

gridded lines
surrounding it. There was so much going on that I thought the only way I could
capture this was through mark making, layering and pattern. The second drawing is the
view of Finsbury Square, which you can get a brief glimpse of in the bottom
corner with the Gherkin peeking through in the background. I tried to capture
the density of the scene. It was great to see everyone’s impression of a
challenging view. Thanks to James and Carlos for arranging such a great afternoon.

For those wanting to sketch the Christmas Tree and the lights at the entrance to the Strand I recommend experimenting with some dark paper with you and media which works on top of dark paper! Otherwise you just end up filling in a lot of darks!

In case it's wet or for those of us who don't do to well in cold/damp weather (I shall be indoors!), the National Gallery offers lots of opportunities for keeping warm and dry and drawing people and paintings in art galleries. The trick with drawing people fast is to focus on the shape, size and posture and not the faces. There's also any amount of architecture and perspective in the very large interiors to keep the 'drawing buildings' fans happy!

The National gallery has sketching stools - but they're sometimes difficult to locate

PLEASE NOTE: The National Gallery does not allow wet media for sketching. You need to use pencils or coloured pencils. Pens that don't use wet ink seem to be OK i.e. no dip pens and no fountain pens.

Refreshments: Sandwiches - In the National Gallery (Grab and Go next to the National Cafe and Expresso Bar in the Basement), M&S @ Charing Cross, Boots at the Trafalgar end of The Strand, various coffee places around Trafalgar Square

In early December the Christmas Tree from Norway is erected in Trafalgar Square. Last year it was lit on 4th December.Plus the National Gallery offers lots of opportunities for keeping warm and dry and drawing people in art galleries.

The aim of starting later is to have time to sketch the tree in lights as dusk begins

Sunday, 6 December 2015

I often walk past this spot outside Liverpool Street station and think to myself, "There's Tom Cruise's house..." Of course, it isn't really, but it was used as the location for the team's secret "safe house" in the 1996 film "Mission Impossible". I find it a clever choice, because it's an unusual building but quite iconic, situated directly above a tube entrance, jutting out into two streets, and that classic Victorian railway architecture. So the other day I decided to stop and draw it.
It must be 20 years since they filmed Tom here, but it hasn't changed at all. Below is a composite from the film, for comparison.

The latest Mission Impossible movie that came out this year saw Tom Cruise and co. in Kings Cross Station, so perhaps he's working his way around the Monopoly board.

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

A very busy Borough Market was the venue for a recent London
Urban Sketchers outing. I arrived late
so wanted to get started quickly and noticed this lovely little building, the Globe Tavern, dwarfed by the steelwork and railway bridges.
I didn’t know at the time but the flat above the pub was used
as one of the locations in the film ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’.

In the afternoon, after sampling some of the delicious food the market has to offer, I chose to draw inside the main market building. I found the structure is so complicated to draw, with sections added here and there as the market expanded. It was really enjoyable though and I highly recommend a visit if you are ever in the area.

Sunday, 8 November 2015

The Borough Market gathering may just have passed, but we have an extra sketchcrawl this month, which takes place on Saturday 14 November leaving from Timberyard Soho, the cafe where the exhibition of drawings by 24 urban sketchers went on display last week.

We are meeting at the cafe, which is at 4 Noel Street, London W1F 8GB, map and details here, at 11am. We are planning to end back at the cafe at 2pm, which means a slightly shorter event than usual, but there's no need to stop if you want to go on.

On the way we will stop to draw in or around
• Liberty department store
• London Palladium
• Regent Street and Oxford Circus
• BBC Broadcasting House
We can warm up and see what we've all done back in the comfort of Timberyard at around 2pm.
Haven't been before? Don't worry. Come and say hello. It's very relaxed. Just bring your own drawing equipment.

Saturday, 7 November 2015

Just lately I have been documenting places that are under threat, or in the procedure of redevelopment.
Over the last few weeks I have sketched at two locations in London that
are going through this process Battersea Park Power Station located at the South
bank of the river Thames, Nine Elms and the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, South
East London.

The Battersea Power station was built in the 30’s
and has been inactive since the early 80’s. It was also on the front cover of Pink Floyd’s Animal album. When I was in my late teens I frequently used the train line that
passed Battersea Power Station and it was always an iconic landmark for me
as the train approached London.I sketched the power station from across the river.I thought that drawing with torn Paper was
an appropriate medium to capture the regeneration-taking place.

The notorious Aylesbury housing estate is the largest in Londonbuilt between 1963 and 1977 and accommodates about 7600 people. Protests are taking place to save the estate. Residents are being moved off the estate, block by block, re-homed and split up all over the country.

I have used torn paper again in the sketch
below, representing its looming future. I couldn’t believe the size of the
estate. My sketches don’t quite capture its scale. I was captivated by the
walkways leading up to the floors. I liked the cylindrical structure of this
one. An interesting thought provoking location.

I have been documenting a forgotten place that
has been subject to planning for many years in Norwich. If you want to see more…
here is a link to my blog.http://juliebolus.blogspot.co.uk

Wednesday, 28 October 2015

No one will go hungry at this month's gathering as we are meeting at one of London's most tasty markets - Borough Market - a dream for the foodies amongst us.There is multitude of produce/stalls/architecture/tasty morsels to sketch so your inspiration should rejoice.
See their intearctive map to plan your day.

The sketching day plan is as follows:

Start Meeting 11:30 On Stoney Street See map link here for exact location, just off Southwark St
To get there, nearest tube is London Bridge or see the market's page

Lunch time 1:30 pm at the Market itself under cover opposite Park Street

In the afternoon we suggest:
Continue to draw the market or you can explore the surrounding streets or the riverside between Southwark and London bridges.

The end - meet again at the entrance to the market under the railway bridge at 4pm to share our sketches and then from 4:30pm at the Wheatsheaf

Thanks to Lis Watkins for letting us use her sketches for our image this month!

Monday, 26 October 2015

One thing I enjoy is drawing movie locations - the more obscure the better. Of course in London there's plenty to discover. I'm also a big fan of Simon Pegg, so with Halloween on the way, I thought it would be a good time to finally sketch some locations from seminal Zom-Com ("zombie comedy") Shaun of the Dead.
When I moved into the Haringay area 10 months ago, I was excited to learn that a lot of the Shaun movie was shot near where I now live. The one that grabbed my attention was Shaun's house itself, a few streets away from Crouch End Broadway. The street features in two great identical long takes of Shaun walking from his house to the shop and back, the first time when things are normal, the second when the zombie outbreak has begun.

there's a different gate now...

There were no zombies in sight when I started sketching, but I did feel a bit odd to be drawing a purely residential view with no obvious landmark or attraction - still, no one looked twice at what I was doing. It started raining by the end, but I persevered under an umbrella.

The most well known location of the movie is The Winchester, which in actual fact was filmed down in South London, in New Cross, coincidentally near where I previously used to live. However, I was intrigued to discover the real Winchester pub on Archway Road, less than 5 minutes from my current house. Although no filming was done here, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost used to be regulars and it was here the idea for the film was born.

Built in 1881, I especially love the original iron scrollwork above the door. The pub's been closed for a few years now it seems, but lately there's been signs of its ...re-animation ...ha ha ha ..sorry, zombie joke. Anyway, yes, over the summer, there was some concerted building work going on with the 'luxury' flats above, the brickwork was all cleaned, and the pub was given a brand new paintjob. While I was there sketching, I could see some activity inside, suggesting it's grand re-opening is imminent. I'll probably pop in for a pint to see what it's like, although no doubt the days of Frost and Pegg drinking in the corner are long gone...

London Creatives is a project that celebrates the colourful talents of our city’s emerging artists, start-ups and early stage businesses. Join us for an evening of exciting art, colourful people and Spanish wine plus the chance to meet the artists exhibiting at this the first TY Soho exhibition.

and

Returning to the walls of Timberyard for this six-month exhibition of works by the city’s branch of the international drawing phenomenon that is Urban Sketchers. The exhibition includes a broad range of works of London scenes from the members’ sketchbooks – and some of the works are on sale.

Book Event

You can meet Katherine, James and Isobel to discuss the world of urban sketching alongside Timberyard’s exhibition of drawings by London Urban Sketchers - and they'll also be happy to sign copies of their books for you.

Selected Artists and Sketches

This is the list of sketchers and works selected for the exhibition. The sketches are a mix of ones done on our regular monthly sketchcrawls and those sketched while people have been out and about London.

Links in the names below are to the websites or blogs of the sketchers. Do please take a look at their other work.

We very much enjoy exhibiting with Timberyard as the owner is very enthusiastic about linking up to creative people - not least because the different branches are all frequented by very creative people!

Thursday, 15 October 2015

I enjoyed a lot the sketch meet last Saturday. It was good to see loads of sketchers along the north bank from Battersea to the Albert Bridge as I approached the meet point.
My first sketches were of the Albert bridge from the north bank and from the bridge itself looking to the east. I liked the connections of the bridge and the careful ribetting.

In the afternoon, after our lunchtime meet at the Battersea Pagoda - see group photo - I had time for a sketch of the back of the Fosters Albion building, curvaceous, on the approach to the grungely urban Doodle Bar.

The afternoon meet was lively and expontaneous and everybody mingled and chatted whilst looking at each others work. Fantastic!

Sunday, 11 October 2015

It was good to see so many people at yesterday's sketchcrawl around Battersea – including new faces as well as the familiar ones. It was a good mix of subjects, too: as well as a great expanse of the river and Albert Bridge, there was historic and modern architecture. Above is Dante Gabriel Rossetti's house in Cheyne Walk. (It's actually the house to the right of the tree – the visible blue plaque is on the house once lived in by Thomas Attwood, a pupil of Mozart and St Paul's organist. There must be more blue plaques in this row than anywhere in London. Brunel lived in a house here, Turner died in one, and George Eliot lived further along. And there are many more besides.)

Across the river on the Battersea side are the offices of the architects Foster and Partners. They designed Albion Riverside, the neighbouring development with curvy-lined balconies overlooking the Thames and Cheyne Walk opposite. It was a good day's drawing, although I seemed to spend more time talking than drawing. We all met up at the end of the day at Doodle Bar on Parkgate Road to look at what we'd all done. There was some great work. Well done to Isabel for organising the day.

Thursday, 24 September 2015

This post explains WHO can submit WHAT for the London Urban Sketchers Exhibition that's being held between 2nd November 2015 - 30th April 2016 at the new branch of Timberyard in central London which also opens in November.

The post includes just some of the images people who have been on London Urban Sketchers 'Let's Draw' sketchcrawls this year.

Who can submit sketches?

We will only be hanging sketches by people who have been ACTIVE participants in London Urban Sketchers in 2015 i.e. since January 2015 when we introduced the monthly "Let's Draw" events which have been very successful. The entry form will ask you which ones you attended.

London Urban Sketchers at the end of our visit to Kew Gardens in May 2015

How do we define active?

We had a discussion about this and agreed that we are looking for people who have:

been to a number of our Let's Draw events in 2015;

and/or consistently posted their sketches to our Flickr Group Pool (the easiest place to see what people have done)

and/or consistently posted to the blog

and/or consistently posted to the Facebook group

and/or contributed to the running of the group

We've already compiled a list of people who we think qualify - and know your name. If you want to know whether you are on the list please ask. We're also very happy for people to make the case for why you might be eligible

The entry form will ask you to identify what you've done this year.

London Urban Sketchers at the British Museum in February 2015

What can you submit?

Subject matter

The first and most obvious condition is that you can ONLY submit sketches which conform to the principles of The Urban Sketchers Manifesto:

We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.

Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.

Our drawings are a record of time and place.

We are truthful to the scenes we witness.

We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.

We support each other and draw together.

We share our drawings online.

We show the world, one drawing at a time.

Obviously if you came with us on a Let's Draw event we know this to be true!

This means that you can't submit drawings made after the event. However you can submit work where you finished the sketch later e.g. by adding colour.

Next we aim to get a good mix of sketches which represent both us and London. So we will be looking to select sketches which are drawings of:

different parts of London

different types of buildings

different types of places - parks, events and people as well as buildings

different styles of sketching

different media used for sketching.

So think about what you have done. We will be looking to select the best of a unique view.

Sketches (or prints) can be for sale but they don't have to be for sale. If sold during the show they will be replaced. Which means if your work is not chosen for the initial batch of work hung it may well be still hung during the course of the show - which continues until the end of April 2016.

We'll also have a portfolio of details about the artists for visitors to view!

Some of the people who sketched the Mall, Horseguards and Trafalgar Square in August 2015

Eligible Media and Size

All sketches MUST be

2D and sketchbook size as we want to hang as many works as we can

usual sketching media. (We're looking to get a good variety of different media including pencil, pen and ink, watercolour, coloured pencils, marker pens, digital colour etc. If in doubt email us.)

framed using a neutral frame which can be hung easily. (white, black, neutral paint, plain wood - we will provide more details to artists whose artwork is selected)

The entry form will state the maximum size for a framed sketch. Current thinking is no bigger than 30cm x 40cm but variations for a panoramic format (used vertically or horizontally) will also be fine if external dimensions do not exceed 150cm in total.

Printing a sketch

We realise that not everybody will have a loose sketch. Also that many of us would regard taking a page out of a sketchbook as sacrilegious! We're therefore happy to accept very good quality prints of a sketch - so long as the work indicates it is a print and not an original.

Do bear in mind that unless you have access to professional scanning and/or printing that means that you're limited to sketches which are smaller than A4 - or reducing sketches so they can be printed using an A4 printing.

How to submit your entry

Entry Form and Fee

You first need to get hold of an entry form which we will need to email to you as we cannot attach a Word file to this blog.

Email London Urban Sketchers (see below) by 30th September with your name, an expression of interest in exhibiting and let us know which email address you would like us to use to send you an entry form and a note of the conditions of entry.

This is a picture and the link is not live!

Our entry forms will also ask for a photo of you and some outline details of your background in sketching for our portfolio.

You must also have your images loaded onto Flickr or Facebook so we can review what is available. Membership is free and we can help if you have problems with loading. We will create special albums for nominated work - see the entry form for details.

There will be a £5 hanging fee per work for those having work hung which is to cover the costs of the Private View to which you will be able to invite people.

We will update people via the blog and Facebook as the exhibition progresses.

Help with the Exhibition

We'll be looking for help with the exhibition. Specifically help with:

the delivery of artwork, booking in and storage prior to hang

hanging day - particularly if you have practical experience

Private View - nibbles / drinks etc.

Taking the exhibition down and handing out to artists

We'll be asking on the form whether you can help and what tasks you think best suit your talents!

About Urban Sketchers London

Urban Sketchers is a network of artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel to. Our mission is to "Show the World, One Drawing at a Time." Visit the main Urban Sketchers blog for more information.